Miss Basketball finalist gets reminder of mom's death every time she's in Greenfield gym

Michael Odom
Jackson Sun

GREENFIELD — Hanging along one wall in Greenfield's basketball gym is the "2018 Class A state championship" banner that the Lady Yellowjackets won in March.

Along another wall are the jerseys that have been retired by Greenfield, including No. 22 worn by Brittany Peoples and her sister Corenda "Shenae" Moore.

Both serve as a reminder of the ups and downs that Greenfield junior Chloe Moore-McNeil experienced last year.

Three months after Moore-McNeil was a Class A Miss Basketball finalist and Greenfield won a state championship, her mother, Corenda Moore, died. It was Moore-McNeil's on her 16th birthday.

"I think about my mom often," Moore-McNeil said. "Every day that I step into the gym, I see my aunt's retired jersey with the same number that my mother wore. If we go back again or anything good happens, I know that she is here."

But through her pain, Moore-McNeil is ready to lead the Lady Yellowjackets back to the Class A state tournament. She is also one of the three finalists for the Miss Basketball award to be given on Tuesday. 

On June , Moore-McNeil was in South Carolina celebrating her cousin's graduation when she received the news from her grandfather that her world had completely changed.

"I didn't cry because I didn't believe it," Moore-McNeil said. "I thought it was a lie, but that 10-hour drive back home, it kicked in. It hurt me because my sisters were there, and I hurt for them."

She made it through the drive home with her grandparents by focusing on her three younger sisters and trying to sleep every moment that she could.

Corenda died of an enlarged heart. Her husband, Tory McNeil, found her lying in her bed with their eight-month old daughter asleep on her chest.

"I made it my mindset that everything I do from here is for her," Moore-McNeil said. "That is how I took it. When I take on the bad, I think of the state championship last year and her being here."

Greenfield girls basketball coach Willie Trevathan felt for his player, but when dealing with a situation like this, you feel helpless.

"Chloe is a really strong person, so I think she handled it better than most anybody would," Trevathan said. "The most difficult thing was that you wanted to do something to help her out, but there wasn't a lot that you could do."

McNeil is not Chloe's birth father, but he always thought of her as his daughter. So when her mom died, the first thought was to formally adopt her.

"Chloe is able to block things out and focus on the task at hand," McNeil said. "I know it weighs on her. It weighs on all of us. I try to let her know that dad is here. As long as the girls are OK, dad is OK."

Moore-McNeil played no basketball from the day her mother died until the end of July when her AAU team was playing in Louisville.

"I took a little bit of a break, but once I got back to practice, I knew this is what I am supposed to be doing," Moore-McNeil said. "It helped me deal with the stress."

Trevathan tried to make sure Moore-McNeil knew that he, the team and the basketball gym were there for her when she needed them.

"Basketball is her refuge," Trevathan said. "In the days after everything happened in the summer, she couldn't wait to get back in the gym and back with her teammates, to get some normalcy and get away from the pain that she was experiencing."

Moore-McNeil has also taken up more of a role with her three younger sisters with their school work, basketball and any problems that arise, but her father, Tory, makes sure that she doesn't have to become an adult too early.

The following week could be another wave of excitement with the possibility of winning Miss Basketball or repeating as the state champions.

"She told me that if I am nominated again, it is yours," Moore-McNeil said about the Miss Basketball award. "It motivated me, and it has pushed me harder.

"It would be a lot of emotion. If we win, she will be the first one that I think of."

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Reach Michael Odom at michodom@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9754. Follow him on Twitter @JSWriterMichael.